Railway-rail joint.



PATENTED .SBPT. 1, 1903 s. GONKLB.

RAILWAY RAIL JOINT. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1903.

UNITED STATES Patented September 1, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL CONKLE, OF HOOKSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO JOHN\V. RAMSEY, OF GREEN TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-RAIL JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 737,584, datedSeptember 1, 1903.

Application filed January 20, 1903. Serial No. 139,786.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL CoNKLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hookstown, in the county of Beaver and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Railway-Rail Joint, ofwhich the following is a specification.

- This invention relates to railway-rail joints, and has for its objectto simplify and cheapen the construction of devices of this characterand likewise increase their security and render them easily adjustableto take up for wear and easily tightened when the joints work loose.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction, ashereinafter shown and described and specified in the claims following.

In the drawings illustrative of the invention, in which correspondingparts are denoted by like designating characters in all the figures,Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan view with the rail endsin longitudinal section beneath their treads. Fig. 3 is a transversesection. Figs. 1, 5, and 6 are detail views illustrating modificationsin the structure.

The abutting ends of the rails are indicated at 10 11 and will beprovided with the usual spaced transverse perforations through thevertical webs for the clamp-bolts.

Upon one side the rail ends are provided with a clamp-plate 12 of theusual construction, and through this plate the clamp-bolts 13 areextended, as shown, the bolts having heads 14 at one end in advance ofthe plate 12 and with transverse recesses 15 in advance of the oppositeside of the vertical webs of the rails, as shown. Embracing the oppositeside of the vertical webs from the plate 12 is an opposing plate 16,similar to the plate 12 and provided with spaced cavities 17, adapted toembrace the recesses in the clamp-bolts, as shown. Formed along theinner upper edge of the plate 16 is a longitudinal channel 18, slightlyinclined and adapted to receive a correspondingly inclined wedge key 19,as shown in Fig. 2. The formation of the channel 18 renders it necessaryto extend the up- (No model.)

per edge of the plate 16 laterally, as shown at 20, and where thecavities 17 pass through this extension they are formed with inclinedshoulders 21 to provide means for the passage of the portion of theclamp-bolt outside the recesses 15, as will be obvious, when theclamp-plate is first placed in position. The Wedge-key 19 thus serves torigidly bind and clamp the parts firmly together and which may likewisebe utilized to be tightened when required to take up any loosenessbetween the parts from any cause, and thus tightening may beaccomplished at any time by a few blows of a hammer or other implement.

The head end of the wedge-key will preferably be formed with anenlargement 22, and the smaller end will be provided with a springstop23, adapted to engage the end of the plate 16 after the wedge-key isdriven home to prevent its accidental displacement. WVhen the joint isto be dismembered, it is only necessary to compress the spring-catch anddrive the wedge-key out, when the plate 16 and other parts may bereadily removed.

WVhen for any reason the parts require lateral adjustment orreinforcement, U-shaped washers 24- may be employed within the recesses15 of the bolts 13 and in advance of the plate 16 to take up any lostmotion between the parts and enable the wedge-key to be effectivelyapplied. These washers may be provided 01' different thickness asrequired.

The parts may be varied to suit rails of different dimensions andincreased or decreased in size as required.

In Fig. 6 a slight modification is shown in the structure, consisting informing the bolts 13 integral with the plate 12 and extending the plate12 beneath the tie-flanges of the rails by a lateral web 25; but thiswould not be a departure from the principle of the invention, as theresults produced and the mode of operation would be the same. By thismeans a very secure permanently-tight rail-joint is produced which maybe maintained in a very rigid condition by the expenditure of a verylittle labor and dispenses with all nuts and other annoying andtroublesome attachments, which are constantly working loose or becomingdetached. By this simple means the whole joint is secured with onesingle wedgekey, and the joint can thus be very cheaply constructed andapplied to any form or size of rail.

A joint thus constructed will support the rails with great rigidity andwill effectually prevent the displacement of the rail ends or thedisarrangement of the joints. By this arrangement also all tendency ofthe joints to become loosened by the impact of the wheels of the passingtrains is obviated, as the parts cannot become loosened by anyconcussion to which they will be subjected, as any concussion to whichone rail is subjected will be resisted by the adjoining rail, to whichit is rigidly connected. All the rails are thus so rigidly connectedthat practically continuous rails are produced, which will cause thecars to glide over them with great smoothness and regularity and alljolting and uneven movement prevented.

Another material advantage gained by this construction of joint is thatthe track may be laid in much less time than with the ordinary joint, asthe recessed bolts, clamp-plates, and wedge-keys may be assembled inmuchless time.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a'railway-railjoint, the rails having spaced transverse perforations, a clamp-plateengaging said rails at one side, spaced clam pbolts extending from saidclamp-plate through said perforations and provided with transverserecesses, an opposing clamp-plate engaging said rails upon the oppositeside and having cavities engaging said clamp-bolt recesses, and awedge-key between said opposing plate and rails substantially asdescribed.

2. In a railway-rail joint, the rails having spaced transverseperforations, a clamp-plate engaging said rails at one side, spacedclampbolts integral with said clamp-plate and eX- tending through saidperforations and provided with transverse recesses, an opposingclamp-plate having cavities engaging said clamp bolt recesses, and awedge key between said opposing clamp -plate and the rails,substantially as described.

3. In a railway-rail joint, the rails having spaced transverseperforations, a clamp-plate engaging one side of said rails and havingspaced bolts engaging said perforations, said bolts having transverserecesses, an opposing clamp-plate engaging the opposite side of saidrails and having spaced cavities engaging said bolt-recesses and with alongitudinal cavity adjacent to the rails, and a wedge-key engaging saidlongitudinal cavity and forming a locking means between the opposingplate and rails, substantially as described.

4. In a railway-rail joint, the rails having spaced transverseperforations, a clamp-plate engaging said rails at one side, spacedclampbolts extending from said clamp-plate through said perforations andprovided with transverse recessesfan opposing clamp-plate engaging saidrails upon the opposite side and having cavities embracing saidclamp-bolt recesses and with inclined sides engaging the outer ends ofsaid clamp-bolt recesses, and a wedge-key between said opposing plateand rails, substantially as described.

5. In a railway-rail joint, the rails having spaced transverseperforations, a clamp-plate engaging said rails at one side, spacedclampbolts extending from said clamp-plate through said perforations andprovided with transverse recesses, an opposing clamp-plate engaging saidrails upon the opposite side and having cavities embracing saidclamp-bolt recesses, U-shaped washers engaging said recesses in advanceof said opposing clampplate, and a wed ge-key between said opposingclamp -plate and the rails, substantially as described.

6. In a railway-rail joint, the rails having spaced transverseperforations, a clamp-plate engaging said rails at one side, spacedclampbolts extending from said clamp-plate through said perforations andprovided with transverse recesses, an opposing clamp-plate engaging saidrails upon the opposite side and having cavities engaging saidclamp-bolt recesses, a wedge-key between said clamp-plate and rails andhaving a yieldable catch at its smaller end adapted to engage theclamp-plate and prevent the removal of the key, substantially asdescribed.

7. In a railway-rail joint, the rails having spaced transverseperforations, a clamp-plate engaging said rails at one side, spacedclampbolts extending from said clamp-plate through said perforations andprovided with transverse recesses, an opposing clamp-plate engaging saidrails upon the opposite side and having cavities engaging saidclamp-bolt recesses, and provided with a lateral web extending beneaththe tie-flange, and a wedge-key between said opposing plate and rails,substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affiXedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL GONKLE.

WVitnesses:

A. A. BATCHELOR, J W. RAMSEY.

